Author: Pete O'Shea

I have just been processing some photos of the recent snow, hence the photo, and noticed that there are a couple of tweaks that need to be made to my current workflow.

This is an ongoing process and I hope these changes will help streamline the process a bit. So I thought it best to write them down to help clarify what need to be changed and why.

The original order required poor or duplicate images be removed from multiple places, the Collection and Darkroom directories. This seemed a bit unnecessary and has the added disadvantage that I was removing a few too many photos from the Darkroom before backing them up to the Archive.

This was originally a fixed page rather than a post but as I do all my photo editing on a Mac now I thought it best to change it to a post instead. This allows me to archive it off for future reference…

Here is a concise description of my current Digital Photography Workflow. I have explained the thought processes behind it a post on my blog titled Working on a Workflow. And any tweaks will be logged under the tag workflow.

This is meant only a guide so feel free to try other software as you see fit.

I was planning on posting something else entirely but time was running out and I desperately wanted to post something on time to keep up with my resolution. So I thought I would follow on from my skydive video with the other video I picked up on my travels.

While travelling around New Zealand I was persuaded into jumping off a bridge. Luckily I was strapped to a big rubber band so I managed to survive the ordeal. I can assure you that the screaming was simply a side effect of all the alcohol I had consumed the night before…

A few years ago I thought I knew all about the internet. I had attempted something like a photo blog back in 1999, not that I had heard of that term back then, to show friends and family back home what I was up to on my trip around the world.

It wasn’t completely successful but that isn’t the point. I thought I understood what the internet was for. It was simply a method of displaying static information to lots of people, or so I thought. How wrong I was.

Around that time everything changed. As more and more people got connected to the internet at ever faster speeds things evolved at an astounding rate.

As I recently mentioned I have a short term goal of improving my web presence. As the web is now such a vibrant, dynamic place, I have had to come to terms with the reality of things like social networks.

As this is the start of another new year I thought it was time to start making a list of things that I would like to achieve at some stage in my life. I may also include items that have crossed my mind at some stage that may be interesting or challenging, they might improve my life in some way or they may just be silly little things that appeal to me in some strange way.

To help get me started I am going to include some of the things that I have already achieved as well. This will give me the chance to cross a few things off straight away, which is always a nice feeling anyway. The other advantage to this is that the list is no longer virgin territory and so attempting the first item will not seem so daunting.

I was going to aim for 100 items but I expect this list to become a moving target with items added and crossed off as and when the opportunity arises so I am just going to start creating a list and see what happens…

A new year brings the opportunity for fresh outlook on things, and hopefully 2010 will bring great things.

My new years resolution is to improve my web presence.

I have been around computers for a long time and I created my own basic web pages a long time ago. Unfortunately they became stagnant and I just simply stopped updating them. That was nearly 10 years ago…

To put this right I am trying to get this blog up and running and I plan to start posting regular weekly posts about whatever is on my mind at the time. As the year starts on a Friday that seems to be the perfect day to target for my weekly post. Let’s just hope that this lasts longer than some of my previous resolutions…

I like the idea of getting rid of most of the paper that endlessly sits in my filing cabinet. So I have been trying to scan in most documents I receive for a while now and then shredding them if they are not required to be kept for some reason.

Obviously there are some documents that you have to keep, at least for a period of time, so I do not intend to completely remove the need for a filing system. My aim is to reduce the amount of paper that needs to be stored and also to keep any documents available in an electronic version for me to refer to at a later date.

To aid in this endeavour I recently purchased the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 scanner. My reasoning for this choice was a combination of price and functionality and I couldn’t be happier with it.

This is a follow up post to Working on a Workflow. In this post I hope to explain the directory structure I use to store my photos, and why. This is obviously a personal preference but you may find it gives you some ideas. Any feedback would also be appreciated as I am still trying to perfect my workflow.

Once processed I also tag photos to help me find any image quickly without having to remember exactly when it was taken. For now I am using Windows Photo Gallery which comes with Vista. There are a few issues with it but it fits most of my needs for now. I use Picasa as well as I find it much easier to produce good photo prints than with Photo Gallery. There are a few other packages that I have tried but all had their drawbacks and I just wanted something to get started with. Once I get on top of my growing pile of photo processing I hope to start looking at other options and share my findings with you.

I seem to spend far too much time thinking about ways of improving my workflow which means I don’t seem to get much work done.

This has to change and I need to decide on every step so I can simply follow the rules and get stuff done rather than keep stopping and thinking “this could be better if…”.

I have created a Workflow page with concise notes for me to follow. These may change over time but the reason for changes should be explained somewhere on this blog. You are welcome to use this as a guide if you find it useful.

I am going to try and explain the process I go through from camera to finished product to help clarify what steps I take in the hope that I might be able to simplify things a bit. At least if it is written down I can just follow my own rules rather than make it up each time I come home from a days photography.